In a statement issued Tuesday, Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit, explained why he is sponsoring a bill that will require public schools to determine which of their students are illegal:
The following is a statement from Sen. Will Kraus, Republican state senator serving Eastern Jackson County, regarding current legislation, SB 473 and SB 590, in the General Assembly pertaining to illegal immigration in Missouri:
“During the 2011 legislative session, I introduced a bill that would require the Missouri Attorney General to sue the federal government for its lack of enforcement of immigration laws. One of the objections we encountered was that there was no known cost to the state. Based on those comments, I asked my office to reach out to state agencies to find out who actually tracked the cost of illegal immigration on Missouri taxpayers. The results were underwhelming as we found most agencies have no idea of the true cost to taxpayers.
This year, I introduced SB 473, which again asks the Attorney General to sue the federal government, and also asks the Missouri Auditor’s office to determine the cost to Missouri taxpayers so we can seek restitution from the federal government to recoup those costs.
As a companion bill, I introduced SB 590, which does three things: Asks our public schools and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to specifically determine the cost of illegal immigration on our public schools; mirrors federal law in creating a state misdemeanor for any non-citizen who does not have their documentation; and allows police to ask for immigration status on all stops, not just arrests. Each of these provisions is designed to better determine the number and impact of illegal immigrants in Missouri. None of these proposed items have any significant punitive provision above what is already in current federal law.
Immigration is ultimately a federal issue and the solution will be a federal solution. But until a solution is reached, the impact of the federal government’s lack of enforcement is being felt at the state level. As fiscal stewards of our residents’ tax dollars, we have a responsibility to determine that impact.”
Thank you for standing up for our kids, and MO taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteWe need to know, we have to know, and people will not stand up until they see how much of their tax dollar is being spent on illegals who COST THE STATE more than they contribute.
KC spends $14,000 per child and has failed, how many illegal children are we supporting?
Kraus going after kids (illegal or otherwise) shows he has no character as a statesman and he has doomed his career.
ReplyDeleteForever.
It is about time someone took a stand on this issue. In Carthage only four years after the biggest classroom and facility shuffle in district history and the completion of a $30+million high school, school officials are concerned about space issues in the middle school and junior high. In a town with an "official" population of 14,000 the number of facilities we have should be sufficient. But due to the "unofficial" population our facilities are being outgrown at unprecedented rate. Where this is headed is that the "official" population of Carthage is going to be asked in the near future to approve spending to construct new buildings to accomodate this overcrowding. For this reason I support Senator Kraus's bill. I am not opposed to anyone coming to this country as long as you do it legally, renounce your old country and become a citizen. Since the federal is opposed to doing anything about curbing the illegal immigration problem, then our states must step up and try to stem the tide.
ReplyDeleteCarthage's influx of students come from the Joplin transfers and they better be sure these students are going to stay and not go back to Joplin before they start building a bunch of new schools.
ReplyDelete